1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to rolling mills, and is concerned in particular with the provision of a modular rolling mill for finish rolling long products such as round rods and bars as well as shaped products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,537,055 (Woodrow et al) and 5,152,165 (Shore et al), current block type finishing mills are typically built with multiple roll stands supported on a common base and housed beneath a common cover. The roll stands are mechanically interconnected to and driven by a common drive which normally includes a single gear box and drive motor. The mill can be expanded to accommodate additional roll stands. However, both the customer and the mill builder must initially foresee that such expansion will be required, and then critical components including the base, gear box and drive motor must be sized and configured accordingly. This involves a considerable initial investment, the benefits of which will not be fully realized until expansion actually takes place, which may not be for several years.
A primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a finishing mill having a modular design which can be constructed initially to suit current rolling demands, and to which additional units can be added to accommodate future expansion.
A companion objective of the present invention is the provision of a modular finishing mill having rolling units which can be shifted rapidly onto and off of the mill pass line, thus providing a high degree of flexibility in accommodating different rolling schedules.